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10 songs that feel like Bullet with Butterfly Wings

Matched to Bullet with Butterfly Wings by Smashing Pumpkins on how the music actually moves — intensity, dynamic swing, texture, tempo — not by genre tag. Here's what makes each one a match.

Bullet with Butterfly Wings
The song you love
Bullet with Butterfly Wings
Smashing Pumpkins
intense 64/100 intensity 120 BPM
Original Sufferhead — Fela Kuti intense 110 BPM

A 95% feel-match — carries the same angry pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (63/100).

95% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (61/100). Same layered texture.

Rockin' in the Free World — Neil Young intense 146 BPM

Keeps the same angry pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (66/100). Measured 95% alike.

Measures 96% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (64/100). Same layered texture.

Terrible Lie — Nine Inch Nails intense 128 BPM

A 98% feel-match — carries the same angry pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (64/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (128 BPM).

Until the End of the World — U2 intense 120 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (64/100). Same layered texture.

Never Let Me Down Again — Depeche Mode intense 120 BPM

Keeps the same cathartic pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (64/100). Measured 99% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (120 BPM).

PDA — Interpol intense 120 BPM

Measures 99% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (64/100). Same layered texture.

Cashout — Fugazi intense 140 BPM

A 94% feel-match — carries the same angry pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (65/100).

Death to My Hometown — Bruce Springsteen intense 120 BPM

90% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it runs a little hotter at 70/100.

…and if you want it calmer

Same feeling, measured gentler — for when Bullet with Butterfly Wings is more than you want right now.

CPR — Wet Leg moderate 130 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but it eases off just enough to take the edge off. Intensity 86/100, down from 64. Nearly the same tempo, too.

I've Gotta Get a Message to You — Bee Gees moderate 120 BPM

It eases off just enough to take the edge off, so it lands at 60/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Crocodiles by Echo and the Bunnymen
Crocodiles — Echo and the Bunnymen moderate 110 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while it measures markedly calmer overall. Reads 52/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Super 8 — Jason Isbell moderate 120 BPM

Holds the same feel while it measures markedly calmer overall. 53/100, versus the original's 64. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Hateful by The Clash
Hateful — The Clash moderate 120 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but its dynamic range stays a gentler 6 where the original climbs to 8. Intensity 49/100, down from 64. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Ohio — Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young moderate 128 BPM

Its dynamic range stays a gentler 6 where the original climbs to 8, so it lands at 50/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Personal Jesus by Depeche Mode
Personal Jesus — Depeche Mode moderate 129 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while it measures markedly calmer overall. Reads 54/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Hunger — Florence and the Machine moderate 110 BPM

Holds the same feel while it measures markedly calmer overall. 52/100, versus the original's 64. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” by Smashing Pumpkins?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “Original Sufferhead” by Fela Kuti, “(Don't Worry) If There's A Hell Below, We're All Going To Go” by Curtis Mayfield, “Rockin' in the Free World” by Neil Young — the top match scores 95% alike. Matching is by how the songs actually move (intensity, dynamic range, texture, tempo, predictability, vocal force), not by genre tag or popularity.

What songs are like “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” but calmer?

“CPR” by Wet Leg, “I've Gotta Get a Message to You” by Bee Gees, “Crocodiles” by Echo and the Bunnymen keep a similar feel while measuring gentler — lower dynamic swing, fewer sudden shifts, or a calmer overall level.

How intense is “Bullet with Butterfly Wings”?

It measures 64/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 8/10, layered texture, moderate sudden shifts, and dynamic vocals. Tempo is 120 BPM.

How do you decide which songs are similar?

Every song in our catalog is measured on 8 dimensions — intensity, dynamic range, tempo, sudden changes, texture, predictability, vocal force and fine sound detail. Similarity is the distance between two songs across those measurements, so matches cross genres and eras. Shared mood tags break ties.

By the numbers: how this song compares

Computed from this song’s place among the 19,209 songs we’ve measured.

Where it sits in 19,000 songs

This is one of the more intense things in our library — more energetic than 84% of the 19,209 songs we've measured. Its intensity reading of 64/100 comes from a dynamic range of 8/10, layered texture, moderate shifts, and dynamic vocals. Relatively few songs occupy this exact corner of the spectrum.

What makes it unusual

What stands out most about this song is blazing intensity: more extreme on that axis than 84% of everything we've measured. At the far opposite end of the library sit the songs built on near-total stillness — steady volume, no surprises, a slow and unhurried pulse — the kind of track this one is the counterpoint to.

Feels almost identical to

Closest matches by feel across all 19,209 measured songs — not by genre or artist, by how they actually move.

What it’s good for

Sleep0/10
Focus3/10
Workout7/10
Dinner6/10
Party / hype7/10

Scored from this song’s tempo, intensity, dynamics and texture — not crowd votes.

1995 in context

The 329 songs we’ve measured from 1995 average a dynamic range of 6.5/10. At 8/10, this track is louder and more dynamic than its year.

Mixes smoothly with

Within a few BPM and close in feel — they flow without a jarring transition.

The fingerprint

Intensity64
Dynamics78
Tempo44
Surprise50
Density33
Predictability50
Vocal force75
Trigger load25

The 8-dimension measurement behind every rating on this page.

Want the single closest match, with every dimension compared?

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